Engg students ready to drive in fast lane

These students are aiming to build the next Renaults and Ferraris. For Arun Raj and his team of 14 mechanical engineering peers at R V College of Engineering, Bangalore, this is an endeavour to create a Formula racing car.

These students are aiming to build the next Renaults and Ferraris. For Arun Raj and his team of 14 mechanical engineering peers at R V College of Engineering, Bangalore, this is an endeavour to create a Formula racing car.

Code-named Ashwa RZ06, their creation is being prepared for the 16th Formula Society of Automotive Engineers competition to be held in Australia in December. The event calls for entries from all over the world to design Formula racing car. The participants are tested on what Raj calls is a ‘tight’ track.

The team participated in the competition last year too. Their car then, Ashwa RZ05, won the Best Cost and Best Endeavours awards. Maximising a speed of 130 kmph, the team won accolades for their first performance.

“This is our second performance and we are aiming for the top ten but not top five,” says Raj, the captain of the team modestly. This time, they have brought in a lot of technical changes like Taylor suspensions and fuel injection.

“Our calculations show an acceleration of 0 to 100 kmph in 4-5 seconds instead of 8 seconds clocked last year. More so, the bulk of 300 kg last time has been cut down to 220 kg,” added Raj.